Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 6.djvu/512

 468 THE BATTLE OF INKKRMAN. CHAP, the dead lies on those who hold possession of the ^'"^- battle-field. n Charge Too often it happens that the soldier, whatever Russian liis nation, commits dire excesses in fighting having He slavs men although they reverse, or even butchered, ; ^ . ^ , „ . . , the wounded tlirow dowu their arms, thus rerusmg in truth to in the battle. . t i i i give quarter ; he slaughters the wounded ; and sometimes in a frenzy more wild, though also less baneful, he goes and stabs at the dead ; but in general, after some interchanges of complaint and recrimination, a veil has been suffered to fall over the crimes of the battle-field. With Russia after the battle of Inkerraan it fared otherwise, and she has had to stand out ex- cepted from the easy forgiveness which is com- monly accorded to nations at the close of a war. Few who know them will question that the Rus- sians are, upon the whole, a gentle, humane, and kind-hearted people, and there were some, at least, of their soldiery, who, in this very battle, gave quarter to adversaries laying down their arms. Nor should it be forgotten that of the acts committed at Inkerman against wounded men, there were some brought about by mistake, whilst others were done under circumstances which tended to palliate guilt. In fights which sway to and fro over ground thickly covered by brushwood, men who have not been wounded at all will often lie down for a time to avoid some